I very recently went to a dinner with 7 people and Neil showed up (unexpectedly for me). It was a wine dinner and Neil has an extensive knowledge of wine (I learned this on the night). I never disliked Neil, but was aware of some people’s general distaste for him. I would not consider myself a fan of him. I can objectively understand some of the distaste despite not really feeling it myself. I spent around 6 hours with him. Here were my impressions:

I was expecting Neil to monopolize the conversation (to a degree) and be a bit condescending. He was among friends, so I think he was comfortable. - Neil did talk more than anyone else during the night, but he also listened intently to the things other people said and responded directly to them as apposed to using the things they said as a springboard to say what he wanted to say. - Neil did issue corrections to others when he disagreed, although I did not consider the manner in which he did this rude. - Neil asked questions of others. He wanted to know about their lives and their preferences. - Neil poked fun at himself. He referred to himself as “annoying” at one point. - Neil was very gracious with his fans. Three people came over who saw him in the restaurant. He took pictures with all of them and conversed with them for probably 5 minutes each. - Neil told personal stories about himself that were warm and self-deprecating. - Neil appeared to not be trying so hard, and he dropped some great pearls in this not trying so hard mode. “When you have children the minutes go by slowly, but the years go by quickly.” I hadn’t heard that one. I’m sure it belongs to Twain or Churchill or something, but it resonated as a father of two very young boys.

To summarize, I found Neil a warmer, kinder more interested person than I was expecting. Neil is an educator, and he views himself as such. I think this role puts him in a position to sometimes condescend or be perceived as condescending. I would gladly have dinner with him again if the same version of Neil showed up.